THE FROG PRINCESS

A dreamy frog discovers that the life of a Royal isn’t all crunchy flies and cool waters in this sardonic debut. Overhearing the prince making an incautious vow, Frog fetches his golf ball from the pond and exacts a promise of marriage. Back at the palace, however, she’s stuffed into uncomfortable gowns, trucked from one foodless official function to another, and, being totally ignorant of polite behavior, embarrasses her royal husband-to-be no end. For the illustrations, Allchin draws together faithfully reproduced elements and figures from late medieval manuscript illuminations, adding visual jokes, such as a golf course to the chateau scene, and surrounding Frog with elaborately dressed courtiers. Swelling instantly from frog to human size but keeping her face and form, Frog goes from rapture to discomfort and frustration, and then to the frozen inability to do anything for fear of offending. Still, she’s willing to make a go of it—until servants at the ball that evening serve platters of frogs’ legs. Then it’s out the window and back to the pond for her. Readers will jump for this tongue-in-cheek variation on the theme of being careful what you wish for. (Picture book. 6-8)